Medical Marijuana: Denver Auditor to release city audit results this morning

Fire up! Expect a packed house at 8 a.m. today, when Denver's Independent Audit Committee will be briefed on the "eagerly anticipated audit" of Denver's Medical Marijuana licensing and regulation process. For the audit, the Denver Auditor's Office assessed the policies and practices of the Department of Excise and Licenses'...

By Patricia Calhoun

July 18, 2013

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Fire up! Expect a packed house at 8 a.m. today, when Denver's Independent Audit Committee will be briefed on the "eagerly anticipated audit" of Denver's Medical Marijuana licensing and regulation process. For the audit, the Denver Auditor's Office assessed the policies and practices of the Department of Excise and Licenses' medical marijuana licensing operations, focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of the associated processes and controls. The department has licensed hundreds of dispensaries and collected millions of dollars over the past few years -- and we're guessing that the audit found a few problems.

Earlier this month, Tom Downey, the head of the department, sent this letter to the Auditor's Office:

For the record, the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses won our Best Customer Service award in the Best of Denver 2013. Here's the copy for that award:

Business at the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses has been booming since medical marijuana centers were added to its task list. But director Tom Downey and his dedicated staff have done their best to make any wait pleasant. In 2011, Downey not only put a Westword rack in the waiting area, but he installed a frozen-margarita machine, too. The latter lasted only a week, but the frozen-yogurt machine he added last December has done much better. There's just one problem: Department employees are so efficient, customers barely have time to pick up their spoon and dig into the treat.

The meeting is open to the public in the Parr-Widener Library at City Hall, 1437 Bannock Street; it will also be broadcast on Channel 8. More from the Calhoun Wake-Up Call archives: "Pot jokes: Colorado Supreme Court declines to hear mine."

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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